Haunted
by OnlyTimeTells
Summary: Kayashima's past returns to haunt him, but this is one ghost he may not be able to handle on his own. Pre Nakatsu/Kayashima slash
1. Chapter 1

I really do love Yanagishita Tomo's Kayashima! I mean, I liked Yamamoto Yusuke's too, but the new Taiki has a greater depth of feeling than the previous one. So, this came about. Please review if you like it, and let me know how I did on characterization.

Part 1 of 2

Kayashima did not like to talk about himself. He much preferred to talk about others, to throw hints, to lead people where he knew they needed to be in order to find their own happiness, even if they didn't know it themselves. He liked helping people. He liked seeing dark, oppressive auras return to vitality and joy. He liked being able to lead spirits into the afterlife, to see them enveloped by a warm light and leave behind such a sense of overwhelming peace. But for some reason, he was always misunderstood.

They called him creepy. They called him a freak.

He knew that most ungifted people thought the things he could do were frightening and bizarre, but he never understood _why_ they did. It was just…a part of who he was. Something he'd always been able to do. Something he…enjoyed doing.

Maybe the real problem lay in his inability to express himself well. Even those he considered friends often teased him for his uninflected voice. His blank, uninterested face. But it's not like he didn't feel anything. On the contrary, he felt everything, too much, all at once, and if he didn't block it out then he would end up going crazy. Crazier than people already thought he was.

"Kayashima, we're going for ramen!" Nakatsu announced, orange aura nearly blinding Taiki as he burst into the room. "And by we, I mean you have to come with us! Okay? Okay. Settled."

Kayashima felt the corners of his mouth twitch, but, as always, remained composed and stoic. Nakatsu shuffled around the room, kicking loose clothes across the floor, rifling through drawers, until he finally seemed to find what he was looking for, throwing on a hoodie and stuffing a few crumpled hundred-yen notes in its pocket. "Kayashima, why aren't you moving?" Nakatsu walked to where Kayashima sat studiously recopying notes at the room's small desk and shut the notebook he had in front of him. "I'll go get Sano and Ashiya. When I come back I expect you to have moved!"

Kayashima said nothing as Nakatsu exited almost as dramatically as he had entered, looking down at his closed notebook. Heaving a little put-upon sigh, he rose from his chair and stretched, his body automatically forming the familiar yoga position, hands pressed together as though in prayer raised above his head. He was not hungry. Not really. But sometimes it was just easier to go along with Nakatsu when he had an idea in that bleached head of his.

And it might have been because now…he felt like he had real friends. Ones who did not bully him for being who he was, but had grown accepting, even asking for his assistance on occasion. This time, he allowed himself a smile.

With his naturally loud personality, Nakatsu had caught the attention of everyone who was still awake in the dorm, so the once-small ramen party had grown much larger, pulling in Sekime, Noe, Minami-sempai (who insisted they needed supervision but in actuality was trolling for a new girlfriend—Kayashima could see the pink line around his aura cloud), Nakao (whose aura was green with jealousy, hellbent on stopping Minami-sempai from talking to girls), and even the passing Tennoji-sempai (who was radiating competitive waves, probably from a completely non-serious challenge issued by Minami-sempai on who could consume more ramen without getting sick).

Sano seemed to join grudgingly after hearing that Mizuki would stay because she had yet to complete her backed-up schoolwork, and even Nakatsu was slightly put out, but their friendship had just been renewed with vigor, so the two wanted time to get used to being around each other again. Kayashima noted that some of Nakatsu's orange was infecting Sano's electric blue and tried not to let the jealousy pulling at his heart show in his behavior.

They went further into the city than usual, mainly because Nakatsu and Minami-sempai argued at every ramen place they stopped at, insisting that each was not good enough, or tasted bad, or…Kayashima stopped listening, instead taking in the evening bustle, giving a polite nod to the samurai who remained vigilantly guarding the ancestors of the house he was sworn to protect two centuries ago. He paused when he spotted a strange aura across the street, a glistening silver that he had never seen before. It was beautiful. Whoever it belonged to was such a good person that it made their aura almost solidify with positive intent. He rarely got that feeling from people: only Nakatsu and Ashiya had ever emitted something so pure.

He turned to rejoin the group and froze. They were gone. They must not have noticed when they left him behind. He felt a little bitter, but he couldn't really blame them. He never spoke, so it wouldn't be hard to forget about him. But…even Nakatsu, who made sure that he wasn't left out…forgot about him. He sighed. It was no use standing there feeling sorry for himself. He slipped a hand into his jean pocket and struggled to retrieve his phone, flipping it open and sighing again as it notified him that his battery was at ten percent power. He sent a brief text to Nakatsu, telling him to have fun and that he would make his way back to the dorm and that he decided he wasn't hungry after all. Then his phone died. He sighed a third time, putting it back in his pocket and taking note of his location. The school should be…he held a hand in the air, feeling for magnetic interference…due southeast of where he was standing. He made his way back to the nearest crosswalk and hustled to the other side just as the light turned red.

The air was cool bordering on chilly, and he held his thread-bare jacket closer as a gust of wind rustled his hair and the fallen leaves scattered on the ground. Kayashima spent all his allowance on books, folktales and spiritual lore, and he hadn't bought any new clothes in quite a while. It was dark now, and cloudy, so very little light shone from above, save for the flickering glares of street lamps placed every dozen meters. Normal people would have been frightened by the setting, heart pounding, feet-hurrying. But Kayashima found it quite lovely, the perfect atmosphere for thinking and recharging. He always met interesting spirits on nights like these. The only thing better would be for it to rain.

Just as the thought passed, the heavens did indeed open, a light drizzle caressing his exposed skin, inducing more little shivers. Kayashima stared at the ground as he walked, shoulders hunched, suddenly attracted by the idea of counting each step, wondering if he could predict the exact distance he was walking by his shoe size. If he made sure to properly count, it wouldn't be that—

A brutal force slammed into his left shoulder, knocking him flat on his back, head bouncing painfully against the concrete. All he could do was lay there and groan as his vision doubled, barely able to make out the figures standing over him as water dribbled into his eyes.

"Freak boy," one of the figures spat, and Kayashima felt his insides freeze. He knew that voice. As he squinted, he remembered. He knew that aura. "Hunting for more victims?" the voice sneered again, this time nudging Kayashima harder than necessary in the ribs with his shoe.

Taiki struggled to prop himself up on his elbows, completely unsure of what his next move should be. His hair obscured his eyes, and he was afraid to look into the face of the person who'd knocked him over. It…it wasn't supposed to be like this. He'd left all of this behind in middle school. The harassment, the threats, the…the fear.

"Man, let's go! It's cold," one of Daiki's friends insisted. "Mess with people when it's sunny, shit!"

"Shut up!" Daiki growled. "I know this freak. He doesn't deserve to walk down the street like a normal person. He's a monster. He's a murderer."

Daiki's other friend scoffed. "This guy? He's like forty kilograms! How could he ever kill someone? I think you got him confused with someone else."

Kayashima felt rough hands grabbing onto his shirt, and he was forcibly lifted from the ground, pulled close to Daiki's smoldering, vicious face. "Wanna tell them, freak?"

"Daiki…" Kayashima said quietly and calmly. "I'm sorry about what happened, and I know you must still be in a lot of pain, but I did not kill your—"

Now pain blossomed on Kayashima's right cheek bone, and he once again hit the ground with the force of the punch, tentatively reaching up to feel the hurting area. Before he could move, Daiki was on him again, lashing out and kicking Kayashima in the stomach, forcing the breath from his lungs and causing his eyes to tear up. "D-daiki…" Kayashima tried softly, but his answer was another bruising kick.

"Don't you dare…" Daiki hissed, nearly shaking with anger. "Don't you dare say that his death wasn't your fault. Don't you…"

One of Daiki's friends yanked him backwards by the shoulder. "Man, would you quit? You're gonna kill the kid! He didn't look all that healthy to begin with!"

"If I killed him I'd be doing him a favor," Daiki said, but did step back from Kayashima's prone form. "That way he could talk to all his little ghost friends. I'm sure—"

"Oi! What the hell are you doing over there?"

"Shit!" Daiki's friend cursed. "C'mon, let's go!"

Kayashima could have cried in relief. Oh wait. It seemed as though he already was, but more from the pain radiating from his midsection. He twisted a little in experimentation. It hurt, but it didn't feel like anything was busted or broken. That pain was generally centralized at a particular point and interfered with breathing, and it had happened enough that Kayashima could tell the difference.

Kayashima couldn't bring himself to move as several pairs of feet appeared within his line of sight. "Kaya-Kayashima?" Nakatsu yelled, dropping to his knees, caught between a strong desire to run his hands over Kayashima's body to check for injury and holding back to make sure he didn't cause his roommate any more discomfort. "Kayashima, are you—well, of course you're not okay—shit, are you…what..I…"

"Let him breathe, Nakatsu!" Nanba pulled Nakatsu back and looked over the silent Kayashima with a critical eye before pulling out his cell phone. "Uncle! We—yes, dammit, I know it's late! Kayashima is injured! Can you be ready at the dorm when we get there? …Fifteen, give or take..Yeah…Yes…"

"Why…why are all of you here?" Kayashima wondered curiously as several pairs of hands helped him to his feet.

"Are you kidding?" Nakatsu shot incredulously. "We totally left you behind on accident! It's kind of pointless for us to go out if our friend is missing! Damn! Kayashima, we weren't just going to abandon you to a boring night at the dorm! Don't think I didn't know what you were trying to pull, saying you weren't hungry anymore. I may not be the smartest, but I know you, Kayashima!"

"More importantly," Tennoji-sempai announced carefully. "Who…were those people that were attacking you?"

Kayashima found himself leaning heavily against Sano as he considered how to answer. It might have been better to lie and say he had no idea who they were. But lying about this kind of thing had gotten him nowhere when he was in middle school. Every time he explained away a bruise or a scratch, he grew further and further away from his family, while the bullying just got worse. And now his friends were, in some small way, his family.

"Two of them I didn't know. The other…was my middle school classmate," he explained quietly.

"Bastards," Nakatsu muttered.

"Let's get him back to the dorm," Nanba ordered.

As Kayashima moved to take a step forward, he found his legs crumpling against his will before Sano reached out to catch him. "I'll get him," Tennoji insisted, pushing the others none-too-gently out of the way before kneeling in front of the leaning Kayashima, offering him his back.

"I do not…wish to be a burden," Kayashima protested, but Tennoji just turned around and gave him a "do-as-I-say-or-else" look, so Taiki reluctantly climbed onto the senior's back, looping his hands loosely around Tennoji's neck and trying not to cringe at the pain and no-doubt bruising he felt all over.

As the large group, still fussing over Kayashima, made its way back to Osaka Gakuen, Taiki slowly nodded off, put to sleep by the steady rhythm of Tennoji's footsteps. Absently, he wondered what Tennoji's shoe size was.

To Be Continued

So…it wasn't that bad, right?


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2 of 2

Kayashima woke with a strange, uncomfortable pressure on his forehead. When he tried to move his hand to figure out what it was, he found it trapped within the confines of someone else's, their contact slightly sweaty but…oddly warm and familiar. He turned his head to the side and was blinded by orange outlined in blood-red, spotted with pale blue. "Nakatsu…" he mumbled.

"Ah!" Nakatsu screamed, falling out of the chair he'd placed next to Kayashima's bed in Dr. Umeda's office. "I'm awake!" he yelled to no one in particular. "I'm awa—oh, Kayashima! You're alive!"

"Yes," Taiki agreed.

"How are you feeling? Does it…hurt badly anywhere in particular? Can I get you anything?"

"I am fine," Taiki reassured him, but asked, "What is on my head?"

"When…when we got back, and none of us could wake you up, Dr. Umeda found a big bump on the back of your head. I was worried, man! We all thought you had died or something! I mean, you were just—and—I was—"

"Nakatsu," Kayashima reminded, "I am alive."

"Right," Nakatsu nodded, righting his chair and sitting in it once again.

Kayashima tentatively pushed himself up onto his elbows, a half-frantic Nakatsu jerking as though making a move to help him but stopping on second thought. "I am sorry that all of you had to…that you had to witness such a thing because of me," Kayashima ducked his head slightly. "As I said before, being a burden upon anyone is farthest from my wishes."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nakatsu huffed. "No way it was you who started something with those guys!..." Nakatsu paused, glancing through his lashes at Kayashima. "You didn't, right?"

Kayashima avoided Nakatsu's eyes, glancing down into his lap.

"Whoa, wait a second. I know that's not true. Kaya-…Taiki, you can't possibly be telling me that it was you who started the whole thing. I refuse to believe that."

"It is a very long and painful story," Kayashima replied softly, unconsciously clenching the starched white hospital blanket in his pale fists.

"Umeda sensei left after taking an urgent phone call, so I don't think he'll be back for a while. We have time. Can you…can you tell me what happened?" Nakatsu's cheeks flushed just slightly, and Kayashima felt a pang quicken his heart. "I mean…I know I'm not…And I don't mean to be…but…" He heaved a sigh. "I can tell that this is eating you up inside. I know how…how you told me, before, that people weren't…weren't always accepting of your abilities. Is that…what this is? Were those guys messing with you because they knew what you could do? Because if so, Taiki, it's NOT your—"

"We used to be best friends," Taiki breathed, closing his eyes as the memories, both good and bad, assaulted him.

"You were…but then why…?"

"They called us the 'Ai' brothers, me and Daiki. He thought…he thought my powers were cool, and he would always jokingly ask me if there were any spirits any time we walked into a room. It was so… He was…he was like you, Nakatsu. I mean, he didn't judge me. He…He was…really…my friend. And because he was there, I could survive. I could deal with all of the…hate, all of the prejudice. Daiki was…my everything."

"I don't understand! How could he do that to you if you were so close? I hate those kinds of evil bastards the—"

"No, Nakatsu. You do not…know everything." Kayashima shifted, wincing when the movement pulled against the bruised skin of his abdomen. "Daiki had an older brother, Kenji, who was in university at the time. The two are-…were…very close. Kenji attended the local university and would often come to pick both of us up after we were dismissed from school. I started to see him like my own brother, and everything was…really perfect for a while. But…" Kayashima felt his throat closing up and coughed a little, which sent Nakatsu scurrying to fill a glass with water from a pitcher.

"Kayashima, don't press yourself too hard," Nakatsu insisted. "You can stop now. It's okay. You need to rest and recover! I'm sorry I pressured you into this when it's so difficult…"

"No," Taiki shook his head after accepting small sips from the glass. "I do not know if I will be able to work up the courage to say this again. And if I must explain to someone…I want it to be you, Nakatsu. I think you of all people deserve a little honesty from me, after everything you've helped me…after all you have done to accept me." He handed the still-full glass back to a worried Nakatsu.

"But…it's not like I need repayment, if that's why you feel obligated to tell me. I like you, Kayashima, and that's not something that's the same as a favor needing to be returned. I like you cause you're you, and I assume you like me cause I'm me. There's no obligation in friendship, just…you know…being there for each other. Ah, I'm bad at saying these kinds of things!" Nakatsu burst, hand rubbing furiously at the back of his orange head, almost disturbing the solid presence of his aura.

"No, Nakatsu, it is not…precisely…obligation. I…I want to tell you. I want, perhaps selfishly, to lighten this burden slightly. Unless…you…do not wish for me to…?"

"No! No! Please…please tell me," Nakatsu insisted sincerely, resettling in his chair and watching Kayashima with an avid eye.

"A few months before our middle school graduation," Taiki began, "Kenji changed. His became severely paranoid, jumpy, and any question posed to him was taken as some kind of affront or accusation. Neither I nor Daiki could understand why he was acting the way he was. But…then I saw her. _Really_ saw her. A little girl, a spirit, not more than ten years old. Everywhere Kenji was, she was too, haunting him, following him, disturbing his peace of mind. Even though he wasn't exactly aware of what she was, or even that she was there, it was clear that he knew _something_ was around him that intended him harm."

"Did you…did you tell him that…?"

"Yes," Taiki nodded. "I…I took him aside as Daiki went to buy us drinks and explained the presence of the spirit…I…had never seen such a desolate reaction in any human being before. He grew pale, started shaking, then became outraged and physically violent. I…almost feared for my life, the way his eyes looked at me like they intended to…" Kayashima could not hold back the tiniest shudder. "Needless to say, things changed. Kenji…Kenji just shut down. He wouldn't leave his room, or eat, or speak to Daiki or his family. Daiki desperately tried to get him to come back to reality, but…he was just too far gone. And so Daiki started to blame me. Of course I had told him about the girl. He was my best friend."

"Well that ghost being there is hardly your fault!" Nakatsu said indignantly. "To attack you because his brother got depressed is completely—"

"I am not finished," Kayashima interrupted sadly. "One day, Daiki went to his brother's dorm room to try once again to draw him out of his shell. Only, Kenji wasn't there. Daiki was so…he was so happy, because it meant that Kenji had finally gone outside to return to…living…" Kayashima paused, sadness overwhelming him at the memory. "But then he found Kenji's suicide note. Kenji wrote that he had had too much to drink one night, but still chose to drive, and on his way home had struck and killed the little girl that had taken to haunting her murderer. He just…he couldn't handle the guilt, the stress, and turned instead to death as the answer to his pain."

Nakatsu looked a little shocked, unsure of what to say or how to act in order to make Kayashima's hurt go away.

"Daiki…just needed someone to blame for the tragedy, and of course because his brother wasn't there…I became the target. My life after that…became…unpleasant. He began to call me a murderer…and maybe I-maybe I am…"

Nakatsu wrapped one of his larger hands around Kayashima's clenched one. "No…no, Taiki. Kenji killed himself for what _he_ had done. You even said that he could already tell that girl's spirit was trying to hurt him. You…you did nothing but be your awesome ghost-boy self and try to help him, and screw Daiki for taking it out on you, the bastard."

Kayashima felt the remnants of yet another unwilling smile creep onto his face. "Why do you always have so much faith in me?"

"Well…I guess…you've never given me a reason not to? What the hell kind of screwed up question are you trying to ask me?" Nakatsu joked, trying to lighten the heavy mood. "Look here. Kayashima. I got great taste, which means all my friends are great. See how that works? Good. Now shut up, lay down, and get better."

"I…will facilitate the process through meditation, if you wish. However, it would greatly diminish my—"

"Just sleep, man," Nakatsu shook his head, pushing Kayashima gently back down on the bed. "Just sleep. I'll be here keeping all the bad dreams away."

"I generally do not dream," Kayashima replied, settling in, "but I will keep that in mind."

END

So this was really just a ONE-SHOT that I posted in two parts because I felt this part needed to be fixed a little. To be honest, I'm still not all that happy with it, but…

Should I write more Nakatsu/Kayashima fic? Or I was thinking about doing Tumbling too, but the fandom is just so small that it's sad, and I'm not sure that the story will get enough attention to stroke my ego…


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